Nearly three in four marijuana consumers living in legal states say they trust that products they purchase on the regulated market are free of harmful contaminants, according to a new poll shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment.
The survey from the cannabis telehealth platform NuggMD found that 73 percent of respondents expressed either “high” or “moderate” trust that the products they buy from licensed sources don’t contain pesticides, mold or other contaminants. Another 18 percent said they have “low” trust with the quality controls, while 9 percent said they had no trust at all.
The results appear largely consistent with those from a separate poll NuggMD conducted last year, finding that 82 percent of cannabis consumers have low or no trust at all in marijuana purchased on the illicit market.
The findings are a positive sign for advocates and industry stakeholders, signaling that consumers are hearing the message that legalizing and regulating cannabis represents a safer alternative to buying marijuana on the illicit market where there are no quality control mechanisms, testing requirements or product recalls.
That’s not to say that all cannabis available at licensed retailers is clear of contaminants, as evidenced by various regulatory enforcement actions in legal states when such problems manifest. But the fact that regulatory practices to mitigate the threat are in place seems to be effectively helping to transition consumers away from the illicit market.
